Ah, the Home of Golf. Every summer a lot of golfers travel to the United Kingdom to golf. I've been twice, once on holiday and once competing.
I've enjoyed the experience both times. But there are some challenges.
A double room means one double bed. I went with my friend and sometimes caddie Steve Brown and we were gladly sharing a room, but not a bed! It is no wonder the girl at the registration desk looked at us funny when we asked for a double room.
The travel time from Idaho is about 18 hours from start to finish. Leave Boise at 8 a.m., and land at 8 a.m. the next day. Your body says it's midnight, and your eyes will not stay open.
Luckily, the adrenaline from the fear of driving will keep you awake, so the fatigue from the flight is now the least of your problems.
The rental car has the steering wheel on the wrong side and you drive on the wrong side of the road. And a standard car has a manual transmission that you shift with your left hand. The roads were built in the 16th century, wide enough for a horse-drawn cart but not a car.
In addition, there are huge roundabouts and you go through them clockwise. So, yes driving is a bit of a challenge.
I don't normally buy the collision insurance on a rental car, but I do in Scotland. I've heard stories of some vans being brought back looking like the vehicle from the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." Torn-off doors, mirrors or bumpers. Just a shell and an engine.
Oh, I'm supposed to be writing about golf? Sorry. There are no golf carts and the locals play 18 holes in three hours. In others words, you better get to your ball and hit it.
And they don't irrigate the fairways, but it pours rain every hour, so the grass can grow. And when it isn't pouring rain, the wind is blowing 30 mph, it's cold and it's getting ready to rain again.
The greens are as hard as a rock, the bunkers are like coffins and the rough can be either bare ground or grass a foot deep.
All that, and I still love it. Can't wait to go again.
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